A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on May 24, 2017 at 10:07pm PDT

The memorial, which was a vigil, took place in Stockport, Hett’s home town. It drew hundreds of people who wanted to pay tribute to this loss. His mother, Figan Hett, eulogized her son as the crowd listened.

“A party in the park just for him; he’d be so impressed, ” she stated. “And he deserves us all to be here, because he touched so many lives in so many ways. It’s due to all this love and kindness that I’m never going down the route of hate or anger at those responsible for what happened. No one can ever take Martyn out of our lives.”

“Martyn taught me many things over the years, too many to mention,” Hett’s partner, Russell Hayward, said when it was his turn to address the mourners. “Never say no do the things you want to do, be fearless and be the person you’re meant to be. The pain I felt when I found out the news this week completely tore my heart out, but I will not let that pain tear away any of our precious memories we’ve shared. I feel robbed of my future but I feel so grateful for my past.”